Caretaker boss David Dunn explains why Jay Spearing will be unavailable for Blackpool's trip to Bristol Rovers
Jay Spearing will be unavailable for this weekend's trip to Bristol Rovers after suffering concussion in Tuesday night's defeat to Gillingham.
The skipper was brought off at half-time and replaced by Matty Virtue after being involved in a first-half collision.
The Seasiders badly missed Spearing's leadership qualities in the second half as they went on to lose the game 3-2, in what proved to be Simon Grayson's final match in charge.
FIFA rules advise that six days is the minimum time length to overcome the problem, meaning Spearing won't be able to feature in Pool's trip to Bristol Rovers on Saturday.
Caretaker boss David Dunn said: “Jay has got to follow certain protocol because of concussion, so he won’t be available for Saturday.
“He will still come down with us as he’s a good leader, he’s the captain of the club so he will be a good voice to have around for the players as well.”
The Seasiders make the long trip south to take on a side that are actually in worse form than themselves.
The Gas are without a win in their last 14 games, a run that has coincided with them losing their manager Graham Coughlan to League Two side Mansfield Town.
Dunn added: “I’ve watched two or three games of them now and I’m getting a good idea of how they play and what their strengths and weaknesses are.
“That’s something we’ll speak about to the players and try and do our best to try and get the three points.”